Come Back Be Here
by Dancing In Starlight
Summary: Her beautiful blue eyes clouded with confusion as she looked around the cell.Where was she? Wasn't she supposed to be…? Then all the memories came rushing back to her. i ship phantom x aria! Story dedicated to FirebirdS0ul
1. Chapter 1

The rain was pouring down on him as the blonde man dashed through the thick forest. _Please be alright, please let me be wrong_, he prayed as the sky rumbled with another flash of lightning. His purple eyes were filled with determination and worry. But by the time he reached the pavilion, he was too late…

_No no no no this couldn't be happening! She couldn't be dead!_

Her limp cold body was sheltered by Shinsoo's wings. Her eyes were closed and her face was serene. He could even see the faintest glimpse of a smile on her face.

Life was a cruel mistress.

Rain continued to fall, soaking his rich and fine clothes. He stood there, shocked as he stared at the once lively girl. He collapsed on the cold stone floor. It can't be… Something warm trickled down his cheeks. He touched his face in surprise. He was actually… crying. For the first time in years, he was crying. The cold rain mixed with the warm tears on his face as he stared at the girl who had brought him so much happiness, although she never knew it. Shinsoo looked at him solemnly and gestured to a letter that the girl clutched in her hands even in death. Gently, he took the letter from her with trembling hands. The letter was hastily folded into half and shaky unsteady words were scrawled on it. Shinsoo murmured quietly, "She would have wanted you to carry on. She wouldn't want to see you grieve." The young man finished reading the letter and tucked it into his pocket, his face unreadable. He knelt down beside the dead girl and kissed her on her cheek for the last time. They would never meet again under the moonlight. He would never hear her laughter once more. She was gone… forever. "I will protect the world you loved so much, I promise. Goodbye…Aria"

She woke up in a dark cell, shivering from the cold. It was dark and she drew her knees to her chest, curling up to stay warm. She breathed out, her breath a cloud of white. Her beautiful blue eyes clouded with confusion as she looked around the cell. _Where was she? Wasn't she supposed to be…?_ Then all the memories came rushing back to her.

The screams.

The tension in the air.

The final kiss in the moonlight.

Darkness.

Tears formed in her eyes as she recalled his glowing purple eyes the night before everything changed. His sweet smile. The snarky comments. She suppressed a sob and blinked, forcing her tears away. Thinking of him wouldn't bring him to her. He wouldn't come rushing to her aid and sweep her away from this cold prison in a shroud of magical cards. After all, she was supposed to be dead. The whole world would only see the dead body of her magic puppet, designed to look and talk like her. But she was alive and she had no way to tell the rest of the world that. To the Maple World, Empress Aria was dead.

Perhaps things were better off that way.

Well hello guys! Jamie here! Thanks for reading my very first fanfic! I'm a new writer so be nice! Do drop me a review and tell me what you think of this story. Flames are accepted in decent English and no vulgarities. It's a little short I know. I'll give you a longer chapter next time!

Anyway, I think it's really obvious who this story is about ;) my favourite pairing EVER! Fanfiction is a little lacking in this department so instead of imagining what could happen to this couple, my good friend FirebirdS0ul. So this story is dedicated to her in thanks for suggesting that fantastic idea. (Firebird, CHILL. Yes this story is dedicated to you. Quit freaking out! OUCH don't hug me too tight I can't breathe!)

Anyway see you guys next time! Drop me a review please!


	2. The Meeting

**Important Author's Note below please read!**

**Phantom POV**

Phantom was bored.

He was at the usual meeting of the Maple Alliance. And he was having a very hard time trying not to fall asleep as Nineheart's monotonous voice droned on about the statistics of monsters in various cities. _I already know this!_ Phantom thought indignantly as he suppressed another yawn. _And so do the others_, he added, smiling to himself as he saw that kid, Evan doze off again before getting a head butt by his dragon. Aran was fidgeting in his seat and glanced, no GLARED impatiently at Nineheart. Mercedes sat elegantly on her throne and leaned forward in interest, but Phantom could see the boredom in her eyes.

Nineheart was such a good lecturer.

After Nineheart's "exciting and informative talk", Empress Cygnus cleared her throat to capture the attention of the Maple Alliance. The quiet murmuring of the crowd was silenced almost immediately. The young Empress looked at the crowd in amusement; they looked desperate for an excuse to leave during Nineheart's briefing. Phantom arched an eyebrow; the Empress hardly spoke to the Maple Alliance unless with reason. She mostly sat there quietly discussing with Nineheart and the more important leaders. The Empress glanced at him thoughtfully before speaking. "I am glad to see many of us gathered here today for the meeting of the Maple Alliance and I would like to take this opportunity to make an announcement." She paused, looking at Phantom keenly. Phantom stared back, tilting his head questioningly. _Whatever announcement she intends to make is most certainly about me_, he mused dryly in his mind. She continued, saying "I will be holding a ceremony to commemorate Empress Aria's death. To remember her. She was a great Empress to the Maple World."

Phantom froze.

All his memories flashed before his eyes. Her shining sparkly blue eyes. Her thick straight blonde hair. Her beautiful laugh. All the meetings under the moonlight. The single red rose he gave to her every night. Aria. The person he loved so much but never got to tell her that.

He could feel Empress Cygnus's gaze on him. Only she had known how much Aria had meant to him. Aria saw through his snarky mysterious self. She saw the real Phantom for who he was. When she died, he lost a part of himself. Phantom was glad for the hood covering his face. He didn't want Empress Cygnus to see through him, like how her aunt did. Seeing that Phantom had no objections or suggestions, Empress Cygnus spoke once more, "The ceremony will be held next week at the Garden of Serenity **(A random garden I made up since I'm too lazy to search for a real garden in Ereve) **. I hope you can attend it. Thank you. You may leave for home now." She smiled at the crowd as they stood and left the meeting.

**Cygnus POV**

She got up from her throne and made her way to the cloaked figure leaning against a tree. "Phantom." She addressed him. The cloaked figure removed his hood, his violet eyes sparkling with amusement. "My queen." He swept an elegant bow towards her. She inspected his face with worry. She wasn't sure of how he would take to the announcement. Would he be happy? Or would it bring back painful memories? Phantom's face seemed untroubled but she could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. "My queen, I admit I am handsome but you don't have to look at me like that." He smirked, teasing her like how he used to tease Aria. The cheek of him. She could feel her cheeks turning red at his comment. If Nineheart found out, thief or not, Phantom won't be alive by the next morning. She coughed, hiding her embarrassment. "So, are you attending the ceremony for Empress Aria next week?" She inquired, quickly changing the topic. He replied with a twinkle in his eyes, "Of course, my queen. I wouldn't miss it since you are there." And he disappeared in a shroud of cards, leaving behind a single red rose in her hands.

**Phantom POV**

Even looking at the view of Ereve from the Lumiere couldn't calm the rush of emotions he had experienced. Sighing, Phantom reached into his pocket. He still kept Aria's letter to him in his pocket, safe and sound. He had read it so often, he memorised every single word. She had pleaded with him to help the heroes defeat the Black Mage, who plagued the land with evil. _Phantom, I'm so sorry, this is too sudden. I hope we can meet again one day. Love, Aria. _The letter ended with Aria's shaky signature. He stared at the sunset in the distance before sighing once again and retreating into his bedroom.

**Author's Note**

**OK so here's chapter 2! I have received a review from a guest saying that this story is similar to A Scarred Legend (which by the way, is one of my faves). I have had this idea since before A Scarred Legend was posted and I have also realised that this story may seem similar to it. I'm trying to change my storyline and make it less similar. If I can't do that, I will just remove this story to give A Scarred Legend's author credit for her/his original plot since he/she posted it first. Goodbye people, and do drop me a review once you are done reading **


	3. Call For Help

**HELLO MY BELOVED READERS I AM BACK!**

**Many many thanks to Strawberry Mochiii, Hareyakana-Furizuz and martin jun for following this story 3 martin jun, thanks for the review! ^^**

**Sorry for the late update. I'm flooded with holiday homework from my dear teachers. I managed to find some time to write this so if it sucks, it's because I'm in a hurry **

**Disclaimer: preciousjewel101 owns original plot**

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Aria POV (Ha, bet you didn't expect this :P )

How long had it been since she had seen sunlight and breathed in fresh air? How long had it been since she heard the laughter of children and the bustle of her people?

Too long. 500 years, to be exact.

Aria sat in the dark corner of her cell, huddled in a ball. She missed Ereve, her home. She missed Shinsoo, her constant companion and protector. Heck, she even missed Nineheart's nagging and concern **(Is this accurate? Did Nineheart live that long?)** . But most of all, she missed Phantom. _Does he still remember me? Maybe he has already moved on…_ She sighed wearily. She had long since given up hope of anybody trying to save her. She was supposed to be dead after all. Nobody would have known that she was captured and replaced by a magic puppet.

The clanking of metal armour could be heard beyond the cell.

Aria turned her head. Nobody came down here, save the magic puppet that came down 3 times a day, she assumed, to bring her food and water. At the beginning, she tried asking it questions like "_Where was she?"_ and "_Why was she here?". _But the puppet never responded, turning its blank eyes to look at her before leaving.

The metallic noise could be heard much more clearly now.

Aria dashed to the door of the cell. "Hello? Is anyone there? Where am I? " She yelled out desperately, rattling the bars of the door. Her voice bounded off the walls of the prison, echoing eerily through the hallway. _"Hello?" "Is anyone here?" "Where am I?"_ Aria shivered in fear. She hated this place. She wanted to go back home to Ereve. A man laughed as he stepped up to the door. Aria backed away from the door in fear. She could see evil in his dark eyes. So much evil. The man smiled cruelly as he unlocked the door, his twin daggers swinging on his belt. "We are gonna have so much fun today, you and I, _Empress Aria_." He sneered before laughing away insanely. Aria shrunk to the corner of the cell, wishing more than ever that this was all just a bad dream.

Phantom POV

The Garden Of Serenity was swarming with mourners, who Phantom strongly suspected, was just here for the sake of Empress Cygnus. He watched from a tree as she placed a single white rose on Aria's tomb. He could read her face like a book. All her emotions were written on her face. He watched as she struggled to hold back the tears that were threatening to pour out from her eyes. She was no doubt recalling all the times she spent with her beloved aunt. After all, when her mother died in child birth, Aria was a mother figure to her, guiding and taking care of her. Her death would have been a huge shock to the then 5 year old Cygnus.

One by one, the mourners stepped up to offer their last respects to the fallen Empress Aria. He watched as they stepped up to her tomb to murmur a few words before leaving a white rose. Slowly, many people started to leave. Soon, there was no one left at the tomb. Empress Cygnus had already left for an important meeting with the Knights Of Cygnus and Nineheart. Phantom stepped out from the shadows of the trees and approached Aria's grave slowly. He gazed at the grave's simple headstone: _"A beloved empress and aunt. Remembered and never forgotten."_ He sighed as he knelt down. "So, it has come to this, Aria." Phantom whispered. He could still recall the first night he met her…

"Phantom, help! I can't take it much longer!" A distinct voice echoed through his mind. Phantom's head snapped up immediately and he turned around swiftly to locate the person who called out to him. He remembered that voice all too well. "Aria?" He called out, his voice cracking with emotion, "Is that you? Where are you?" The surrounding forest was silent. He shook his head in self-rebuke. "I must be going crazy." He muttered. Phantom looked down at the grave silently before turning a card into a red rose. He gently laid the rose down on the pile of white roses. Red against white. Just like how her blood had stained her white dress on her heart…

Stop, he told himself. Don't think about it. He breathed in slowly. "I haven't forgotten. I will never forget." He finally said before disappearing in a blaze of cards into the sky where his ship was waiting.

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**Oh my this is short sorry guys! See you next time!**

**-Jamie **


	4. Dreams (AN is important)

**Author's Note**

**I apologize for my absence! School's been a total b***h (excuse my language). Homework and projects are piling up and today's the only free time I'll be able to type out this extremely disastrously short chapter.**

**Also, I've been hooked to Harry Potter recently (just finished watching the Deathly Hallows part 2 last night OMG 3) and I've been diving headfirst into Harry Potter fanfictions so…**

**Many thanks to DontForgetTheMemories (cool name btw), Toumei Ai and zairaptorzv for following this story! **

_He could hear screams just beyond the door._

"_Please, please, stop it! Please!" A weak female voice cried out before ending off, screaming in pain and agony again. _

"_You wanna stop princess? Tell me what I want to know!" A heavy deep voice sneered as the screams continued relentlessly before stopping suddenly with an unusual threatening silence. _

"_Let… me… go…" The weak voice gasped, almost as if she couldn't breathe._

"_I'll be back tomorrow sweetheart," the deep cruel voice crooned, "And then we'll see whether you want to tell us anything." He ended off with a sharp cruel laugh and the door swung open._

Phantom woke up suddenly, groaning in frustration. It was a month after Aria's memorial ceremony and every night after that; he had been dreaming the same dream over and over again. He wanted to see who the deep cruel voice belonged to and who he was torturing. But the dream always ended just when the door opened. Phantom could have sworn he knew who the weak voice belonged to but he couldn't put his finger on who it was…

**It's really pathetic, I know. But I won't be able to update until after my End Of Year examinations which is in early October, I think and I wanted to give you a headsup.**

**Anyway, I am an extremely cruel author to have left you hanging on who these 2 mysterious people are (it's pretty obvious, dudes) and whether Phantom (the blur idiot who hasn't realized his one true love is waiting for him to save her from the cold dungeons in _) will realize his dreams mean something.**

**Goodbye (for now) and drop me a review or something. Flames are now accepted because I will flame back at you ha.**

**Much much love for reading this author's note and putting up with me,**

**Jamie **


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